1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to supports for stringed musical instruments, and more particularly relates to a shoulder rest for use with a stringed musical instrument of the violin or viola type, of conventional size and construction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of shoulder rests to comfortably support a stringed musical instrument such as a violin or viola is well-known in the prior art. In its simplest form, the shoulder rest is merely a pillow-like apparatus that provides a layer of cushioning between the musician's shoulder and the hard underside surface of the instrument's resonance box, thereby absorbing the force of the musician who bears down on the instrument while it is being played. In fact, some prior art shoulder rests have actually employed air bags.
There have been several deficiencies encountered with prior art violin or viola shoulder rests, among which include the inability to effectively position the shoulder rest to accommodate musicians of varying physical characteristics and playing preferences, thus compromising comfort. Moreover, and equally significant, many prior art shoulder rests generally contacted a substantial portion of the instrument's underside surface in such a manner as to partially absorb and muffle the violin sound, thereby adversely affecting the resonance and overall tonal quality of the instrument.
Another important deficiency encountered by some prior art shoulder rests has been their tendency to skid along the underside surface of the instrument's resonance box while the musician was performing, necessitating frequent readjustment of the shoulder rest. Some prior art shoulder rests have employed rubber coated metal support members which clamped the shoulder rest to the instrument, thus preventing the instrument from sliding in relation to the shoulder rest. Unfortunately, clamped rests are undesirable because the clamping action produces pressure on the back of the violin which dampens the sound. To alleviate the problem of sliding, a large contact area would ideally be required to engage the shoulder rest with the instrument's underside surface, in order to provide enough friction between the two surfaces to prevent sliding. This directly conflicts with the objective of eliminating the adverse sound-dampening effects, described previously, which theoretically necessitates an infinitely small point of contact between the shoulder rest and the violin's resonance box.
Some prior art shoulder rests have attempted to strike a compromise between these competing ideals. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,213, which was issued to Tamsen Beseke, discloses a shoulder rest for use with a violin or viola that is made of a solid piece of elastic foam material containing regions of depressions and elevations, with the elevated regions engaging against the backside of the instrument, thereby reducing the amount of contact between the shoulder rest and the instrument. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,951,541, which was issued to Steven W. McMillan, discloses a shoulder rest containing a substantially horseshoe-shaped depression tending to disengage the supporting base of the shoulder rest from the violin's underside surface, except around the device's periphery. These prior art shoulder rests have been unsuccessful, however, at providing any significant enhancements in tonal quality.